Winslow Homer

Lithograph printed in color, c.1862.
Image size 16 3/4 x 27."(42.5 x 68.6 cm).
Good condition and color, save for a tear in the right margin to the image edge, mild toning on verso. A bright and beautiful impression of the rare print. LOCATION: New York City

Inventory Number: 82434
Price: $20,000.00
Publisher : Lith. by Thomas & Eno, 37 Park Row N.Y.
Winslow Homer was apprenticed to lithographer J. H. Bufford of Boston at age 19. He began working as a freelance illustrator for Harper's Weekly and Ballou's Pictorial in 1857. Homer moved to New York City in 1859 and immediately enrolled in the Life Classes at the National Academy of Design. This image was likely created soon after his move to New York City and was done as a job for Thomas & Eno.

The location had two names: Union Pond in the winter months and Union Grounds during non-winter months. The Pond/Grounds was located in Williamsburg Brooklyn between Harrison and Marcy Avenues and Lynch and Rutledge Streets. It opened on May 15, 1862, as the Union Grounds, the first fenced-in baseball park, thereby allowing William Cammeyer to charge admission to the baseball games. Three clubs called the Union Grounds home including the Eckford Club and the Mutual Club of New York. The National Association of Base Ball Players was the first organization governing American baseball by 1865. Over 100 clubs were members and major league games were played on the Union Grounds.

During the winter months to keep money coming in, the ballpark was flooded and the Union Grounds became Union Pond. The first skating season was the winter of 1862-1863. The elegant three-story pavilion, seen here just left of center, was used to illuminate the ice during the winter and stood in deep center field during the baseball season. The Union Pond/Grounds was demolished in 1883. Today Heyward Street runs through the original grounds. 18th-19th Century Subjects, New York City, Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island & Queens